(L to R) Top Standing Up SR #32 Victoria Gay, Assistant Coach Angy Marcharl, Assistant Coach Janice Marcharl, SR #22 Christy Novembre, Head Coach Shawn Thornton, SR #20 Tasiha Bazile, JR #34 Beatrice Boisvert, SR #13 Kendra Brathwaite Kneeling FR #10 Jessica White, JR #4 Diana Tran, JR #11 Elva Martinez, SO #10 Allison Caloggero, Trophy, 8th #21 Jess Popken, SO #3 Jessie Jepson, 7th #1 Katie Monestime, 8th #2 Victoria Brown

The St. Clement Lady Anchors basketball team has finished a remarkable regular season and now have their sights set on a top seed in the state tournament.

The Lady Anchors won the Catholic Central League compiling an (11-1) league record and finishing with 16 wins overall.

Included in their championship season was a 14 game winning streak, including six straight wins on the road.

“I never thought in December, that we would have this much success and now be a top seed for the MIAA State Tournament,” said head coach Shawn Thornton. The team ranges in experience and age ranging from seventh graders to seniors. “We have a very young team and it’s great for the future.”

The team has four seniors, one which will be in the Saint Clement Hall Of Fame, Christy Novembre (Cambridge). Novembre has exceeded all expectations stemming from her freshman year. “She has accomplished so much within these four years, it’s outstanding,” said Thornton.

Novembre finished this season with 510 total points, 215 rebounds, averaging 25.5 points per game. In her career, she has totaled 1700 points, averaging 20 points per game. She has led the Catholic Central League in scoring her sophomore, junior, and senior campaign as well as being unanimously voted as the league’s Most Valuable Player for the 2010-11 season.

Other notable contributions have come from certain players who buy into the system such as the following players: co-captain forward Kendra Brathwaite (Chelsea), who started in 2009-10, but has come off the bench this year putting the team first, senior center transfer Thaisa Bazile (Medford), Bazile played at North Cambridge Catholic before transferring to Saint Clement in November and she has been the anchor on defense grabbing pivotal rebounds in the final minutes of the game, junior small forward Elva Martinez (Medford) earned a spot in the starting rotation midway throughout the season for her defense and rebounding.

Sophomore co-captain Allison Caloggero (Medford) has been the unsung hero in all of this success averaging around six points per game but defending other teams go to girl, eighth grader co-captain Jess Popken (Medford) has been the starting point guard since seventh grade and was named Catholic Central League all-star last year.

Popken takes the burden off Novembre by averaging 10 points per game and controls the offense. Eighth grader Victoria Brown (Medford) has hit some game winning shots coming off the bench to provide instant offense.

“I couldn’t be more proud of what we accomplished and set out to do working hard individually and collectively as a unit,” says Thornton. The team will now have to play the waiting game when the seedlings are drawn on February 25 at the MIAA.